Then and Now
by PlumCrazy
Summary: It's been a year since he's seen her. He didn't think his reunion with her would be on orders to kill her and he couldn't beleive what he found after she was dead.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **Alright… my second attempt at an epic… we'll see how it goes, won't we? Hope you like it and reviews are always appreciated. By the way… the chapters in this story skip back and forth between the present and the past… Oh and it's set somewhere between Advent Children and the game…

**Disclaimer: **Sadly enough I do not own any of the final fantasy characters or places…

You know, many philosophies and theories have been brought up in history, such as: "Is that table really there? Is it only there because I am there to see it? If I turn around does it disappear?" Or maybe: "I see blue when I look at the sky, but is the color we both call blue different from one person to the next?" My personal favorite: "Why do you drive on a parkway but park on a driveway?" The most common question however is: "Is this all part of someone's dream?"

If it was part of someone's dream, it would have to be a pretty sick person, but as in the nature of most truly sick and evil people, this person would have to be smart, and have the ability to multitask. They would have to be able to see every person in the world and what they were doing in that moment. They would have to be able to elaborate as they would know everything that was ever written, said, or done. However, like I said, this person would be sick, with all the problems in today's society or any time's society. They would have to want to kill Tifa…

Rude had gotten a little too close to the wrong side. He had leaned over the line dangerously, almost as if teasing it, laughing at it. However, he had never actually taken that step and now looking down at her limp form, he wished he had.

A year had passed since he had seen her. A year since he had seen her smile, heard her laugh, felt her hair, smelled her sweet perfume. He knelt down onto one knew and ran his fingers through her silky brown hair. Rude trembled, both in anger and sadness.

He was angry that Rufus would be so cold, so heartless. Rufus knew about the time Rude had spent with her during those few months. Rude was sure that was half the reason Rufus wanted her gone.

He was sad that she was gone. He didn't know what to say, or think. It was his fault and he knew it. If he hadn't gotten so close to her she wouldn't have died, or hell, he wouldn't have cared.

Rude looked up around the dusty bar that he kneeled in. Chairs and tables had been upturned in the struggle. Broken glass lay against the opposite wall, from the shot glass she had thrown at Reno when he had angered her.

Reno was behind the bar looking around for something to get drunk off of, just as he always did after he killed someone. "Damn," Reno mumbled. "Where's all the Rum?"

Rude smiled and replied, "It's in the cabinet behind you." Rude remembered the second night he had come in here, right after he had killed someone. She had smiled and asked, '_What'll it be?'_ When he replied _'rum'_ she got a sour look on her face and turned to the cabinet behind her…

Reno reached up and grabbed the rum, grinning. "Haha, score," Reno laughed, uncorking it and taking a swig.

"You're going to kill yourself Reno," Rude mumbled reaching for a table and turning it right side up.

"I've been drinkin' since I was twelve man," Reno stated, "if I was going to die it would have happened by now."

Rude sighed softly and shook his head, "I'm sure."

"Hell yeah, you're sure!" Reno took another swig and jumped up onto the counter.

Rude continued putting all the chairs and tables back into place, remembering the times he had been in here.

"We should do something with her," Reno said, looking at Tifa, "Cloud could show up any minute. Barret too, that guy scares the crap out of me."

Rude nodded in agreement, "I'll take care of her, why don't you go search the house or something?"

Reno left, taking the rum bottle with him. Rude listened as Reno walked upstairs then got to work; he worked quickly pretending it was just any other person. He'd done this hundreds of times, so why was it so different now?

It was different because he knew Tifa, he loved Tifa. It was different because something as sad as being an assassin is only made sadder when you're sent to kill a loved one. Something as scary as murder is even scarier when it's not your choice.

When Rude was finished, he sat down on the ground and leaned his head against the wall. "Damn," He mumbled, probably the only expression of misery and contempt he had been feeling lately.

Rude looked up and saw Reno leaning against the doorway leading up to the upstairs apartment. He wore a smirk on his lips and said, "You might want to see this…"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Alright guys chapter two… I hope you like it… like I said before… chapters jump back and forth between Now and Then… hence the stories title… This is then…

**Disclaimer:** No I don't own it… Square Enix does… and ask anyone… I'm jealous…

Tifa watched as Rude sat down at an empty table in the crowded bar. She had been talking to Vincent who sat on a stool at the counter she was polishing, the counter she always polished unless she was getting someone a drink. It was common speculation on her bar's regulars that Tifa had a very severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

"Vincent, was Rude on the force when you were a Turk?" Tifa asked curiously. Why would he be here? What did a known assassin want with a run-down bar in Edge? 

"No, but his brother was," Vincent replied, "For a while at least. He was just a kid, a little naïve. He didn't make it…"

"Hard to think of an assassin as naïve," Tifa smiled, trying to imagine Rude as a kid.

"Hard to think of as child as an assassin," Vincent said.

"Not him," Tifa replied, glancing in Rude's direction.

Vincent turned and saw Rude sitting in the corner silently, "Hmm, why's he here?"

Tifa shrugged, "Beats me." She paused, "I'm going to go find out." She straightened her short brown mini and took a deep breath. As she approached, she smiled nervously and said, "Do you want something?"

"Whiskey," Rude replied, as mile tugging at his lips.

Tifa nodded and turned on her heel, leaving him to sit there again.

Vincent looked up at her questioningly. Tifa shrugged in response and pulled out a frosted glass from below the counter, pouring in the whiskey. Vincent looked at her curiously until she responded with, "All he said was 'whiskey'."

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A few hours passed and the last drunken regular swaggered out of the New and Improved Seventh Heaven. One lone man sat in the darkened corner of the empty bar, waiting for the bartender to notice him.

Tifa saw him, still sitting there, but waited a few minutes, choosing instead to clean glasses. After about ten shot glasses and a few beer mugs she realized she was stalling.

She pulled out two glasses and filled them both, one with whiskey and the other with beer. Placing them down at Rude's table, she sat and inquired curiously, "Why are you here?"

Rude shrugged, "What do you mean?"

"Well obviously you're here for a reason. A Turk wouldn't walk into a bar in Edge unless they had a reason."

"I came to talk," Rude said, leaning forward in his seat.

"About what?" Tifa demanded sharply. She was terrified, but Tifa had never liked to show her fear, instead choosing to cover it up with anger.

Rude shrugged again, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, let's talk about this: Let's talk about why you're here, because if you're here to kill me," Tifa paused, pulling out her gloves and putting them on, "then you better believe I won't go down easily."

Rude chuckled softly, "That's what I like about you. You're always ready to fight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tifa asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Every time I've had to fight you, you always seem ready, prepared," Rude smiled, "I like that."

"Why? So you know killing me will be more fun than the next moron that ends up on Shin-Ra's most wanted list?"

Rude mumbled something too low for Tifa to hear. It seemed as if this was all a game to him. Ad if he was trying to scare or anger her before he killed her, which seemed to be the only logical explanation for why he was here.

"What was that?" Tifa asked, crossing her arms.

"I can't do anything without people thinking I'm going to kill them. I can't even ask you out to dinner. I mean, can't you take the hint?"

Tifa's face turned a bright reddish color and she mumbled at a barley audible level, "You're asking me out?"

"Yes," Rude nodded, his face showing almost no expression. The glasses didn't help; they were probably covering up the only expression on his face, a small glint in his mysterious eyes.

"I… I don't… I'm not… I can't…" Tifa was shocked. I mean, what kind of a man asked their worst enemy out to dinner. What Turk in their right mind… I'm not going to finish that question. It was established long ago that no Turk was actually in their right mind.

Rude looked slightly amused when he asked, "You going to finish that sentence?"

"I'm not exactly sure how to finish that," Tifa replied truthfully. "I mean, why not Scarlet or Elena or, or, someone else?"

"I don't like them," Rude replied, "Scarlet isn't the kind of woman you would ask to dinner and Elena is with Reno and as for someone else, why anyone else?"

"What's wrong with anyone else? I'm your enemy, aren't I? Do you think we would be happy together?"

"If you're going to say no then just say it. You won't be hurting my feelings."

Tifa sighed. A rush of unidentifiable emotions was running through her, and she wasn't sure how to respond. She could say yes and go out with him, or she could say no. He was an assassin. He could kill her, and easily too. He seemed sincere though, like he really did like her. "I, I don't know."

"I didn't expect you to say yes," Rude said, standing up, "Thank you for your time."

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Tifa lay in bed that night, tossing and turning in her attempt at sleep. She had turned him down, but for what reason?

Was it because part of her still believed she and Cloud should be together? No, she was over Cloud. She had given up on daydreaming of them together. He wanted Aerith, and Tifa was sure he would have her, someday. She was tired of waiting for him, so she moved on.

Was it because Rude was an assassin? Maybe, Tifa had never been one to go out on a limb, or throw caution to the wind, and dating an assassin would be doing just that.

Or was it because she was scared? Bingo, but what was she scared of? She was scared of being killed, of getting hurt. She was mostly scared of being alone. Tifa's problem seemed to be that she thought getting close to a man inevitably led to heartbreak. Maybe she was right.

But as Tifa lay in bed she came to the conclusion that she'd never know if she never tried. She decided, as her eyelids grew heavy, that she would go out with Rude, if he ever gave her the chance to tell him she had changed her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **Alright, Alright… here's the chapter where you find out exactly what Reno found… ooh intrigue… sorry… I've been saying that a lot lately…

**Disclaimer: **Sadly no, I do not own Tifa, Rude, Reno or Vincent… who seem to be the only characters that have appeared so far… But I do own what Reno finds…

"What might I want to see?" Rude asked, raising an eyebrow as he jumped to his feet in an almost catlike manner.

"Just come on," Reno said impatiently, pushing Rude up the stairs.

"Fine," Rude said, "Where is it?"

"Master Bedroom," Reno replied smirking, "Trust me, you'll be shocked."

Rude stepped into the master bedroom and looked around. In the corner of the room, by the window, was a small pink basinet. Rude wasn't sure exactly how to respond. He looked down into it and saw a tiny sleeping baby girl, and he placed the child at three or four months old, but what did he know about kids?

"She had a kid," Rude said, sounding almost disappointed. He loved Tifa, and she had gone off and had a kid. It's not like he was the easiest person to get a hold of but she could have at least tried to tell him about it?

Reno saw that his friend was hurt. "Rude man, it's not easy to tell an assassin you cheated on him," Reno had never been truly serious with about any particular woman, but he knew from experience that it wasn't easy to tell a Turk anything.

The two turned quickly when they heard the door creak open downstairs. Reno pulled his EMR from its spot on his belt and Rude pulled his gun out from the inside of his jacket. They both agreed that it was probably just a rat or a guy that got drunk a little too early in the day, but you could never be too sure.

At the bottom of the stairs Vincent stood, his widow-maker aimed at Reno. "I should have known it would be you two," Vincent said. He lowered his gun and his eyes narrowed, "Did Rufus send you?"

"Vincent," Reno smirked, "Long time, no see. Rufus says the Turks have gone to hell. There's talk of bringing you back in."

"I wouldn't go back," Vincent replied, "Even if it killed me. The company went down with the Turks."

"Rufus said he didn't expect you to come back."

"Reno, you're avoiding the question," Vincent demanded, "Did Rufus send you?"

"Yeah," Rude said quickly, "Rufus sent us."

"What for?" Vincent asked.

"We can't tell you," Reno replied.

"Where's Tifa?"

There was a pause and Reno said brightly, "The lifestream."

Vincent muttered something, and then raised his gun again, aiming it at Reno. "Why do you always point the gun at me?" Reno asked angrily.

"I can't shoot him," Vincent said, obviously talking about Rude, "I promised Tifa."

"Sorry Vincent, but orders were orders," Reno said. He sounded almost scared, which, as anybody, was not how that sentence was supposed to come out.

"We didn't want to kill her," Rude stated.

Vincent couldn't argue with that logic. He knew all about Rude and Tifa, and how much Rude had loved her. "Do you know about the child?" Vincent asked simply.

"You mean the kid upstairs?" Reno sighed in relief as Vincent lowered his gun again, "Is she yours?"

Amusement tugged at Vincent's lips, "That's a laugh. No, she's Rude's."

A force of emotions strong enough to kill hit Rude just then. What did Vincent mean, hid kid? How had that happened? A baby… "What's her name?" Rude asked shocked.

"Terra," Vincent replied.

Rude nodded. That sounded like a name Tifa would choose. It seemed like a good name for her child.

"Why were you here?" Reno asked interrupting Rude's thoughts.

"I can to visit Tifa. Seems as if that is no longer an option," Vincent said, laughing humorlessly.

"What about Terra?" Rude asked. "Tifa can't take care of her anymore, obviously."

Vincent shrugged, "I could take her."

There was a cry from upstairs and Vincent quickly put his gun away. "That would be Terra," Vincent sad, pushing Reno out of the way so he could make his way up the stairs.

Terra cried her eyes red and puffy. She reached up in the air when she saw Vincent, trying to get him to pick her up. Vincent picked Terra up gently in his human hand, looking at it lovingly.

Rude watched as Vincent handled Terra and wondered why he didn't know about his own daughter. Tifa told him to leave, so he did, but she had been pregnant… pregnant. He was still trying to wrap his mind around that; it was a hard concept to grasp. Had she known at the time? Shiva, he hoped not.

"Can I take her?" Rude asked suddenly. She was his kid, was she not? He had rightful custody, didn't he?

Vincent turned to Rude, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" Rude demanded, "She's rightfully my child."

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Vincent said, "You don't really want to raise her do you?"

"Yeah, I do," Rude replied.

Vincent would do everything in his power to change Rude's mind, if he thought it would make a difference, but he knew it wouldn't. "Alright," Vincent nodded. "Just promise you'll ask for help if you need it." Vincent said before placing the child in Rude's arms and leaving.


End file.
